─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

after discussing the plan of el going into the 'bath' to find will and barb, dustin took the liberty of calling their physics teacher for some assistance. tilly sat beside joyce on the couch as they waited for the conversation to be over. joyce held tilly in her arms, gently stroking her head. 

"yeah, i'll see you on monday. i'll see you on monday, mr clarke. bye." dustin concluded, hanging the phone back on the receiver. he turned to joyce. "do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?"

joyce thought for a second, "i think so. y-yeah. yeah." she confirmed. dustin nodded, glad that the plan was starting to come together. "good. then we just need salt. lots of it." he instructed.

"how much is lots?" hopper asked. dustin cleared his throat, knowing his request would be absurd. "1,500 pounds." he revealed to them.

tilly's eyes widened at the amount. "what the hell? you're sure he said that?" she asked, washing a confirmation nod.

"well, where are we gonna get that much salt?" nancy groaned. there was a moment of silence as everyone thought of ideas. suddenly, hopper straightened up.  "the school." he announced as he stood up. "the school has pounds of salt. to melt ice."

dan patted his shoulder, "great idea hopscotch."

"don't."

"perfect! let's go!" tilly announced, trailing right behind him.  hopper groaned at her words. "i'll be making the orders here." he told her, pushing the front door open and allowing her to step out first.

"it could be a two-man job." tilly suggested with a shrug. but hopper immediately shook his head in that usual broody manner. "it's not." he stated, putting the conversation to an end. nancy, jonathan and tilly piled into joyce's car, as the rest went with hopper or daniel.

"joane." joyce muttered, glancing over to her in the passenger seat.she had called shotgun almost immediately, leaving jonathan and nancy in the backseat. in-fact, tilly believed she was doing them a favour since they loved spending so much time together.  "yeah?" tilly hummed, her eyes on the road.

"that thing you did... with the paper." joyce started, making tilly's heart tighten. she was surprised with how long it had taken joyce to bring the topic up. "how?"

"i-i don't know." tilly admitted. "i just have this feeling— usually anger, you know me. and then everything just starts feeling really hot. but not like a bad hot, it feels comforting. like it feels warm. and next thing i know, something's lit on fire, and my nose is bleeding."

jonathan and nancy shared a look at the backseat, that was definitely not normal. it was one thing finding out mike had been harbouring a girl with special abilities, but it was one thing finding out that matilda davis too had special abilities.

joyce pursed her lips, unsure how to respond to matilda's confession. she had known this girl since the day she was born, how were they only finding out about this? she just nodded, diverting her attention to finding a place to park in the school's lot.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

jonathan, tilly and hopper decided to get retrieve salt from the storage unit. as they did this, joyce dealt with el; dustin, daniel and lucas worked with the kiddy pool; and nancy and mike handled getting water into said pool. jonathan grunted as hopper tossed the bags salt at them, "hey, wait. it's not gonna snow next week, is it?" jonathan asked, genuinely worried at the possibility.

"worst case, no school." hopper shrugged.

"worst case? that sounds like a good thing." tilly laughed. she suddenly gasped as one of the salt bags landed on her foot. "great throw." she grunted, leaning down to pick it up.

"even if we find will in there..." jonathan started, and the mood in the room completely shifted. tilly turned to face him, wondering what had been playing on his mind. "what are we gonna do about that thing?"

"we kill it." tilly suggested, as if it were no big deal. she, nancy, and jonathan didn't spend days prepping and planning on how to hunt the monster down just to back out at the last moment.

"we're not gonna do anything— you're definitely not gonna do anything." hopper explained, his last sentence directed to tilly. "i don't want you anywhere near this, all right? your mom's been through enough already byers." he turned to tilly. "and your dad would kill me if he knew you were even in the same proximity as this thing."

"but will's my brother." jonathan reminded him. tilly nodded, chiming in: "and he's my friend."

"listen to me. dan and i are gonna find him." hopper reassured them, "all right? you gotta trust me on this. we are going to find him."

"you two can't do it alone." tilly told him, holding the bag of salt against her chest.

"it's not up for discussion." hopper finalised. tilly rolled her eyes, pivoting and walking away. she hated how hopper always got the last word in. she waddled back over to the gymnasium, the two men following after her.

"colder!" lucas yelled at nancy, who was constantly tweaking the water temperature so that it would be perfect. tilly dropped the bag of salt down by the side of the pool before dusting her hands off.  "hey, joane?" joyce walked over to the girl, el trailing behind.

"yeah?" tilly asked, her hands resting on her hips.  joyce took a deep breath, worried how the girl was gonna take this request. "well, i was uh talking to el and—" she began.

"i need your help." el confessed.

"what?" tilly scoffed as hopper and jonathan tore open and poured bags of salt into the pool. she just blinked at them, wondering whether this was a joke or not. but joyce handed the girl a second pair of tapped up goggles, "please?" she said softly.

tilly frowned for a moment. she was an incredibly stubborn person, and her grudge against el and the other three boys wasn't going away anytime soon. but this was will. the boy who had been there for her since they were kids. tilly had the chance to help someone, she couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

"okay." tilly said gently. "what... what do i need to do?" joyce let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "thank you." she sighed, pulling the girl into a hug. she held tilly's head affectionately, and tilly embraced her back just as tightly. joyce was the closest thing matilda had to a mother, and she could not let her down.

tilly pulled away after a moment, grabbing the matching pair of goggles. "how does this work?" she questioned, fiddling with the duct tape covering the goggles.

"concentrate. think will and barbara." el instructed in her broken english. tilly pursed her lips, sceptical. "that's it? it's that easy?" she asked.

"yes." el nodded. that didn't sound too bad to tilly. if she really had the same supernatural abilities as eleven did, this could run pretty smoothly. the only issue was that tilly had no idea how to tap into her abilities. any time she used them, it was accidental and fueled by her rage.

mike placed the supercomm on a wheelie and turned it on. he watched, confused, as tilly emptied her pockets and then take fling her shoes off. "what's going on?" he asked, feeling weirdly concerned. "i'm helping." tilly said as it were nothing, pulling her socks off and tossing them away. daniel's eyes widened at her words. "you are?" he asked with anxiety.

tilly misunderstood his tone, thinking he was just surprised that she was willing to help. "don't make this into a big thing." she groaned while she placed the goggles over her eyes. she couldn't see a thing, and suddenly felt two pairs of hands by her side. mike and daniel assisted her into the pool, while hopper and joyce helped el.

the lukewarm water was initially a shock to tilly, and it made her realise how accustomed she had been gradually growing to her new body heat. this felt... weird. she crouched down in the pool, feeling el reach over and clasp onto her hand. the two laid back and floated in the water. the lights began flickering and the electricity around them started surging, before it completely shut off.

tilly squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the darkness to consume her. she tried to keep her breathing as steady as possible as she thought hard about will and barb. her eyes shot open, and everything was pitch black.

"el?" tilly quizzed, her eyes darting around the area. "eleven?" she called out. suddenly, the head-shaved girl appeared in her view, letting a relieved sigh escape from her lips.

"i'm here." el spoke in reassurance. tilly nodded, glad they were at least doing this together. "good." she spoke softly, her heart rate settling a little.

"barb? barbara?" el called out, scanning the place. tilly reached over, repeatedly tapping her shoulder as she pointed towards what seemed to be a lump of goo a few feet ahead of them. "look. let's check it out." she instructed.

the girls trodded towards the shape slowly. once they were close enough, they realised that what they were walking to wasn't a lump of goo. it was the deceased body of barbara holland. tilly's heart sunk to her feet and her screams came immediately, the sight of barb's decaying body was sickening.

"gone! gone! gone! gone! gone!" el wept over tilly's violent cries. "gone. gone. gone." tilly began helplessly thrashing around in the water, startling and splashing the group around her.

"it's okay. it's okay. it's okay." joyce tried to console them.

"barb!" tilly shouted, her voice echoing. while she didn't personally know the girl, it was still a terrible thing to see. she couldn't help but feel sick that barb had to experience such a horrible death, and that they had to be the ones to break the news.

"gone. gone!" el repeated.

"hey, i'm here majo." daniel whispered from the edge of the pool. he knew it wasn't a good idea for her to partake in this mental search, but he didn't even have a second to stop her. eleven was clearly far more experienced with her powers compared to tilly— it didn't feel right. "take deep breaths. not-not under the water, but where ever you are—" he rambled.

"dan." hopper sighed, resting his hand on the man's shoulder. when it came to protecting his daughter, daniel often became an emotional mess. "calm down."

"it's okay. it's okay." joyce's voice soothed them.

tilly's yelling turned into mutters as she stared at barb. "she's gone..." she whispered with distress. if she knew this was what they'd encounter, she would never have volunteered to help.

"we've got you." daniel continued.

"hey. it's okay." joyce spoke, "it's okay, it's okay, you guys are safe. you're okay, guys."

the grasp on el's hand tightened as barb's body morphed into a gooey shed. tilly recognised it immediately, she had spent countless hours with will here. "castle byers." el stated.

tilly impulsively ripped her hand out of el's, and wasted no time in crawling into the small space. she saw will curled up into a ball in the corner of the shed, trembling and rocking himself back and forth. her heart broke at the sight of him, he had been scared and suffering this entire time.

"will." el spoke, wriggling into the makeshift castle. "hey." tilly laid her warm hand over his icy cheek and took his hand with her other, "will... i-we're here." she reassured him.

"mattie?" will croaked as his eyes fluttered.

tilly's eyes welled up at his weak voice, and she nodded through tears. she didn't know how he knew she was there, but she was glad he did. "yeah. i'm here will. and-and..." she trailed off.

"mom is coming." joyce's voice projected through their minds, telling them exactly what to communicate to her son.

"your mom... s-s-she's coming for you." el stuttered.

"hurry." will muttered weakly. tilly frowned. there was no better time than now to put her heat-related abilities to use. "here." she said, hovering her hands over his chest. she sealed her eyes shut to focus, and could feel warmth leaving her body.

"just-just hold on a little longer." el continued as tilly heated him up. but will wasn't responding to them anymore, and tilly stopped. "will? will?" she pleaded.

a low growling was heard and castle byers shifted into vapour. "w-what?" tilly looked around her, confused on what was happening. will's body did the same and her panicking quickly increased. "will?!" she cried, "will? no, no. will?!"

"will?" el joined in, "will?" el hugged her knees and began whimpering with distress. suddenly, she turned into vapour too.

"el? eleven?" tilly instantly stood up, crying profusely. you can't leave me here."

to everyone else, el had shot up panting but tilly was sinking down into the water.

"what's happening?" daniel immediately asked, his eyes darting around the group to see if anyone had answers. no one knew what to say or do, this was completely new for them. and the only person who could possibly help them, was wrapped around a towel and traumatised.

"help!" tilly yelled as she looked around, her throat began closing in and she fell to her knees, "no-"

daniel pulled her out the water without hesitation. he placed her on a towel and pulled her goggles off her eyes, but she was still hyperventilating. "what do we do?" dustin panicked as she wheezed and coughed aggressively. daniel began to search for something, but he was clearly having no lucky finding it.

"here." mike stood up and ran over to them. he pulled a familiar asthma pump out of his pocket and shoved it into her mouth. daniel gave him an appreciative nod, taking over and pumping the air into her system.

"how do you have that?"

mike just shrugged, tilly had taken it out of her pockets and dropped it with her socks and shoes so, he picked it up— not wanting her to lose them. with a few more pumps, tilly's breathing became more regular, which made them all sigh in relief. "i'm so sorry." joyce teared up and she ran her finger's through tilly's damn hair, "i didn't know."

"it's okay." tilly croaked out. she was far too focused on the fact that she had seen will, she had actually seen him. they needed to save him, fast.

"you were amazing honey." joyce told her as they cried, "i'm so proud."

"good job." daniel sighed, rocking her back and forth in his arms. he couldn't help but feel like he was failing at being a good father. he needed to prevent her from being so impulsive and putting herself in such dangerous situations. he needed to learn more about these abilities.

∙ ~εïз~ ∙

once they had emptied and packed up the kiddy pool, everyone gathered together to discuss their next steps. the five kids were sat on the bleachers in a peaceful silence. lucas had been helping dry tilly's hair, upon her request, while mike assisted el.

"so this fort. where is it?" hopper asked as he pulled his coat on. "uh, it's in the woods behind our house." joyce told him.

"yeah, he used to go there to hide," jonathan added. daniel nodded. "got it." he says. he and hopper were planning to go to the lab, enter the upside down and retrieve will. while daniel of course wanted to help rescue will, he also hopes going to the lab would give him some clarity on his late wife's involvement.

hopper nodded and strode over to the exit. the two byers shared a look before immediately following after him. daniel knew he couldn't leave tilly without saying goodbye, and turned the opposite way to go to her. daniel crouched down so he was her height. "you gonna be okay?" he whispered.

"go be the hero dad." tilly gave him a soft smile.

"stay safe." daniel told her, not fully reheating her words due to the amount of stress he was under. he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her temple.

"she will," lucas reassured him.

"we promise." dustin added. daniel gave the boys a grateful nod before jogging off to catch up with hopper.

"hey guys?" tilly breathed out as she leaned on lucas' knees.

"yeah?" dustin muttered, turning to face her.

"i'm sorry." she spoke. the trio were baffled, matilda joane davis never apologised. so when she did, she meant it. "you know... for being such a douchebag to you nerds." there was a moment of silence, and tilly's face began to flush with embarrassment. before she could take back the apology, mike whispered: "we forgive you."

"really?" tilly scrunched her face up in confusion— she would never be so accepting. dustin shrugged. "yeah." he told her.

tilly wasn't buying it, it felt like a prank. "t-that easily?" she asked.

"i mean... you aren't a bad person." lucas explained. "you just had bad friends, and you definitely need new ones."

"i'm just saying, if i were you guys, i wouldn't forgive me." tilly confessed with a shrug. "okay fine." mike sighed as he rubbed el's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "we can give you a second chance."

"michael wheeler giving people second chances?" tilly dramatically gasped, "now that's something you don't see every day."

"it's rare, trust me." lucas joked.

mike couldn't help but smile. "take it or leave it." he offered. "i'll take it." tilly half-smiled, "if i gain your love, is that a ticket to your party?"

"you mean our sad party?" dustin quoted her previous words. "that you never wanted to be a part of?"

"ah, ah, ah." she stopped him, wagging a finger in his face. "i have a second chance."

"i don't think it's that simple." lucas explained, referring to her question. dustin nodded. "our party's a democracy."

"democracy?" el piped up for the first time in a while. "where we all have to vote to make a decision." mike told informed.

"i'll be waiting for election day." tilly stated, "when i'm accepted, what would i be?"

"a rogue." the three said without hesitation. tilly let out a dry laugh, "i don't know what that is but i like it." she smiled.

this feeling was unusual... it was nice. being accepted, well, sort of accepted, into their party was a nice feeling. if you had told tilly a week ago that she was enjoying hanging around with the nerds in the av club, she would've thought you were crazy.

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
tilly being secretly happy that the nerds (she lowkey bullied and disliked) accepted her into their friendship group 😝😝 they are so cute together i can't wait to write her dynamic with them like they each have their special little bond it's great